This Could Be the Last Time
by Ambre Astral
Summary: Abby is at a birthday get together in McGee’s apartment for one of his old friends from college, when a simple trip to the bathroom, could change her life forever. McAbby Please Read, Review, and Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of the charcters from it. I do however own the crazy mind that puts these concoctions (what you're about to read) together. I'm not making any money from this. It's all purely for fun. No Copyright Infringement Intended. I'm just a heathily addicted, loyal fan of the show!. =D**

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**This Could Be the Last Time  
Chapter One  
**by Special Agent Starr

Abby made her way through Tim's apartment, her destination, the bathroom.

McGee had invited her at work to come over that night because they were celebrating Lacey's, an old friend from college, birthday. He claimed that all his friends that were attending had told him to make sure she was going to be there, otherwise it wouldn't be the whole gang, and of course he wanted her to be there as well. He was on the verge of getting down on his knees and begging her with pouty lips when she laughed and agreed to go. She had planed on going anyway.

Although Tim had known these people longer and knew more about them, Abby had managed to win their friendship in true Abby fashion in no time at all. It wasn't really a big shock that she got along with his pals, they were a lot like him, but unique in their own way. She supposed they thought the same about her, especially her uniqueness, but they accepted her just as if she had sat next to them during one of Professor Mason's "you better hope you brought tissues, because this is gonna bore you to tears" lectures.

She smiled, as she finished washing her hands, hearing the laughter and chatter in the other room through the walls. She did notice one voice, in particular, that made her smile expand and her heart warm. This one she had known for about six years, and considered him her best friend. When she pictured the group sitting in the other room, joined together in whatever conversation they seemed to be having, he stood out. He was the one of the bunch with that extra flare that attracted her like a moth to flame, and that wasn't just because he was packing major heat on a daily basis.

Deciding she better get back before she missed all the fun, Abby flicked off the switch and her made her way back through his bedroom. The lamp on his bedside table lighting her way, she had only made it out a few steps before she noticed that it was oddly silent as apposed to the events of a few moments ago. She had made it about halfway across the room before she heard a woman scream.

"Timmy!"

If she wasn't mistaken the owner of that scream was Lacey. She was about to quicken her pace and dash to the others, when the words that fallowed stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Yes, Tim, yes I'll marry you!"

Abby felt like all the blood had been drained from her body and replaced with liquid nitrogen. She was sure that if anyone had touched at that very second that she would have shattered into a million microscopic pieces. She was cold, so cold; she was surprised that there wasn't stem flowing off her skin, like the effect of pouring water on dry ice. The task of breathing had become increasingly difficult as well. However, as her body seemed to be shutting down, her brain was in maximum overdrive, which is what lead her to the doorway. She needed some kind of proof, any kind of proof that what she'd heard had actually happened and not just some horrible joke her mind had played on her.

She poked her head around the frame, hoping not to be spotted and that her at the moment lifeless body would keep its balance and not send her crashing to the floor. Her piercing green eyes absorbed the sight in front of her. It was true. The many faces were smiling and apparently there was cheering and clapping too. All of that was lost on Abby though; she couldn't hear anything, like she was watching TV on mute, and she'd made it just in time to see the main scene. Tim's back was to her, which she was actually thankful for because she had a quick feeling that if he'd been facing her, his Abby-senses would start tingling and he would've opened she eyes and looked directly at her. If that had been the case, she would have lost it completely. She could see Lacey's face, she looked so happy there, tightly embraced in Tim's arms. Abby couldn't blame her, she would've been too, if it were her.

All she could do was turn around and walk back into his room. She walked to the farther side of the mattress and laid down, her back to the door. Immediately the smell of him attacked her already fragile senses. She thought back to the nights she had spent in this very spot, no matter what the situation, he was always no more than her arms length away. That would be changing soon, very soon. Lacey would be here from now on. 'This could be the last time I every get to be in this bed' Abby thought sadly, but she wasn't going to waste the opportunity. She would take it, if even for a short while. Then after the pain had seized, she would have to face the cold hard fact that now faced her, she was going to have to let McGee go, for good this time.

She reached for the lamp, the light being too much for her eyes, almost being able to turn it off before the first wave of tears escaped from her eyes.

Almost

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He looked around at all the joyous faces around him, someone was missing, and it was someone that he wanted to see more than anyone, especially after the big announcement. He remembered her telling him that she had to pee, so that meant she'd be in the bathroom. He looked at his watch. She'd bounced in that direction about an hour ago. Something wasn't right, his gut started backing him up on that as he got closer to the entrance of his bedroom. When he went round the corner, he saw a body on his bed. Certainly he knew who it was; he'd recognize her anywhere, even with her back toward him. His heart started beating faster. She could be hurt, or she could just be taking a nap or something? 'I doubt she's passed out because she only had two beers tonight' he concluded, or 'someone might have knocked her out' his mind contradicted. Whatever the case, he knew there was only one way to know for sure.

"Abby?" he whispered.

There was no response, moving closer and hoping that she simply hadn't heard him, he tired again.

"Abs…?" Keeping his voice low, in case she was sleeping, he didn't want to startle her. That's when he thought he saw her shaking. Throwing the slow and quite approach out the window, he quickly made his way round the bed and crouched down beside her. Her face was buried in the pillow, he heard faint sobs as he leaned closer to her being muffled by the pillow, placing his hand on her shoulder he felt the muscles tremble beneath the fabric of her shirt.

'This isn't good!' he noted, his concern growing by the millisecond.

When he touched her, the shaking stopped, as well as the noise. He was just about to ask a question, when she raised her head. She turned her head away from him, bringing a hand up to her face. She must have been trying to hide the evidence that she had been crying, but it hadn't worked, as McGee noticed the watery black mascara that now stained her pale skin. It wouldn't have worked anyway, he knew her too well.

He plucked a tissue from the box on the table, when she sat up swinging her feet around the edge, he handed it to her.

"Thanks" she managed to mumble in a congested tone and then sniffled a couple times.

It was obvious she was trying to hold back her emotions; she was avoiding eye contact and looking down at her hands. Tim was determined to get to the bottom of this. Something had really upset her and he wanted to know what, he never liked seeing her shaken up. Not wanting to risk upsetting her any further if he happened to say the wrong thing, he took his finger and pushed her chin up. The second their sights connected with one another tears began to slide rapidly down her checks. He couldn't recall her ever seeing that amount of pain caught in those gorgeous eyes.

He reached towards her, softly using the pads if his thumbs to wipe away the wetness as much as he could before it streamed down her face.

"Abs…" he said soothingly "what's wrong?" He had barely gotten the last word out of his mouth before he was crushed into a hug that nearly sent him flailing backwards. She pressed her face into the crook of his neck. Half hearing, half feeling her saying, "Oh McGee... I'm so sorry" as her lips trembled against his tender skin. Then he felt wetness begin to soak his own shirt, the shaking had started again, and the sobs a bit more forceful. The damn she had built to hold back her emotions, had crumbled into pile of rubble.

He couldn't tell whether she was pulling away from him because she was ashamed for acting like this or simply because of how hard she was crying. Whatever the reason, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight to him as he began rubbing soft circles on her back. Deciding he'd let her "get it all out" before he pried as to why it had started coming out in the first place. What was she sorry for?

Her body stilled, the sobs had subsided, and though they still held onto each other their grips were more relaxed now. Tim figured now would be a good time to get her to elaborate. Placing his lips beside her ear, he whispered, "What's wrong Abs?"

Feeling her tense at his words he was afraid that maybe he had spoke too soon or asked the wrong question. He knew one thing for sure though; they were not leaving this room until he knew she was feeling better. He took another shot.

"Come on Abs… talk to me… please? What's wrong?" his voice soft and genuine.

Now she began to pull away slowly, and this time, he allowed her. With a few sniffles and a deep sigh, she willingly looked him in the eyes, and finally answered his question.

"Everything" she replied weakly.

While her words had sunk into his mind, she had gotten up and started heading toward the door. Tim stood up, prepared to catch up with her before she could disappear and avoid the situation. He stopped however when he saw her shut the door and turn back towards him.

"We need to talk"

It was McGee who tensed this time. The last time he had heard those words he ended up being hurt by what she had had to say, something he didn't want to hear, but they got through it, and she obviously needed to get whatever this was out if it was affecting her this bad. So, bracing himself the worst, he allowed her to take her hands in his as they sat down on the bed.

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{ This pesky little thing right here is an idea that wouldn't not shut up while I was trying to write the next chapter in my other story, Undercover In Vegas. Quickly realizing that my brain wasn't going to cooperate until I put this story down. Ha ha. So I hope you like it. =] Please review and let me know what you think. I have the other chapter already typed up. I'll post it tomorrow sometime. Now I'm off to work on Undercover In Vegas. =D }


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of the charcters from it. I do however own the crazy mind that puts these concoctions (what you're about to read) together. I'm not making any money from this. It's all purely for fun. No Copyright Infringement Intended. I'm just a heathily addicted, loyal fan of the show!. =D**

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**This Could Be the Last Time  
Chapter Two**  
by Special Agent Starr

She needed to do this. Now! She had to make sure he knew exactly how much he meant to her, even though it wouldn't change anything, she needed for him to know. She hoped that this would provide the closure they both needed. When he'd touched her face that had been what sent her over the edge, emotion wise. She couldn't hold back anymore. That could've been the last truly intimate moment they could share together, before a new woman became his main priority. This was her last chance to be completely honest with him, even if it was too late, he deserved to know. That was the least she could do for him.

Sitting down on the bed, she cut to the topic that all that was to follow revolved around…

"I love you Tim."

McGee, while a little stunned, relaxed. They'd been through this before.

"I know Abs, I love you too." He said sweetly, squeezing her hand, and giving her a small grin.

"No Tim, please just let me get this out and then you can say anything you need to, okay?" her voice pleading.

More confused now, Tim nodded.

"I'm not talking about loving you like I love puppies anymore. I'm talking like _Do you? I do. Do you? I do. Daddy! Bubby won't share the popcorn with me! Mommy, sissy keeps calling me a geek!_ _College, grandchildren, 50__th__ wedding anniversary_ and everything in between!"

Now he was completely shocked, where was this coming from? Why now?

"Listen I know that I'm the one who pretty much screwed things up when we first dated. I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you in any way, I was scared. I made a mistake, a big mistake. I'm going to have to live with the fact that I let you slip away. It was wrong of me to think that you would always be there for me to run back to whenever I was ready, wrong of me to lead you on for so long. You deserve to move on and now that you are, I'm so happy for you."

He started at her blankly.

"Every since you asked me to lunch that day, I knew, knew that you would be someone who I would want in my life, I just had that hinky feeling ya know? We hit it off from the start and have grown into the best of friends. You've treated me better than anyone I know Timmy, you've always been there, always, even though that's what I had doubted in the beginning, that if something went wrong that would ruin everything. I never wanted to lose you, and now that all this is happening I feel like am I anyway. Which it isn't your fault that I figured out my feelings for you too late, at all. You couldn't waste your time waiting on me forever. You deserve the best Tim and I know that you're going to make Lacey just as happy as you would've made me."

She paused for a few seconds and then continued, "I know things won't be exactly the same anymore but hopefully they won't change too much. I mean hopefully we can still hug, with the occasional kiss on the cheek and hang out and be the friends that we are and stuff like that. Even if we can't do all those things I just hope that you won't walk out of my life completely. And I just want to say thank you, Tim, for everything you've done for me, you have no idea how much I appreciate it and you." She finished with teary eyes and the best smile she could manage. She knew she had probably stopped making sense _long _ago, but she felt as though she'd hit all the major points.

He finally moved closer to her, he wanted to make sure she knew that what he was about to say was the absolute truth. He put his forehead against hers, and held her gaze for several moments.

"I love you Abby, and nothing or no one, is _ever_ going to take me away from you without one _hell _of a fight." His voice laced with pure love and confidence. Once he saw her smile grow, signifying that she believed him…

He pressed his lips to hers

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Abby was stunned. Had he just listened to a word she said? This is exactly what they couldn't do anymore! This was what she was trying to make the break from. She tried not to enjoy the kiss. But it was too damn hard when she realized this could be the last time he ever kissed her like this again.

Then he started to deepen the kiss, making it more passionate. As much as she didn't want too, she had to stop this. It wasn't fair to any of them. She opened her eyes as she was getting ready to pull her self away from him, then she saw her.

Lacey

Abby's heart stopped and she froze as she watched Lacey's face go from recognition to disappointment as she then darted her way into the bathroom.

'NO!' Abby's thoughts screamed. She didn't want to be the reason Tim was about to be put through rough times, not again.

"No, no, no, no, oh no…" She pulled away from McGee and went to make her way towards the bathroom door, but Tim's hold on her hands prevented that.

"Tim what are you doing? Lacey is in there! She saw us kissing! You have to go talk to her... Why are you just sitting there!" she pleaded.

Tim just started smiling and laughing.

"Lacey and I aren't getting married, Abby."

"Yeah not if you don't get in there and explain what she just saw going down! McGee she's probably in there bawling her eyes out or…" she wondered why in the heck he was still just sitting there.

"Or standing right behind you." A female voice said causing Abby to jump slightly.

She turned around to face Lacey slowly, not wanting to have to see her be to angry with her.

"Now why is it that I should be crying Abby?" she asked

"Umm… because umm… " she was confused, if she were engaged to Tim and came in and saw him sucking face with another girl, she would be outraged. She would have even waited to cry until she had hot glued the little hussy's mouth shut.

"She thinks that I asked you to marry me." Tim blurted out. Abby noticed that he seemed to be enjoying this a little much. Once she figured out what was going on around here, she would get him back for it.

"Ha!" came Lacey's reply. Seeing the look in Abby's eyes that said "If someone doesn't tell me what's going on right now, something or some one is going to spontaneously combust!" she decided she'd better explain.

"Yes, Tim and I are now engaged," she confirmed happily, seeing Abby's eyes darken dangerously see added quickly, "but not _that_ Tim!" she said pointing to McGee, "My boyfriend Tim came over awhile ago, from work and proposed to me, said it was a spur of the moment type thing, but I could care less what made him decide the time was right, I'm engaged!" she chimed.

Abby stood there for awhile, her eyes going back and forth between the two of them.

"It's true Abs" McGee told her.

"Then why do you look like that when you saw us in here?" Abby questioned.

"Umm… hello? You guys have been in here for like an hour with the door shut, and just in case you haven't noticed the only bathroom is right there," she again pointed to what she was talking about "I was the only one to have enough nerve to look in here and see what was going on, so when I peek in and see that you two are destroying peoples bladders just so you can have a make out session, I was kind of annoyed." She laughed at her own statement as she made her way to the door. "And may I suggest wrapping it up in here, because I'm sure there are going to be other people who need to use it." She informed as she exited.

As soon as she was out of sight, Abby dove toward McGee in a hug with a force that had knocked him on his back.

She heard Tim begin chuckling underneath her, and with that she pulled back and socked him in the arm.

"OW! Hey… What did I d…" he was silenced by her lips, which she had let express just how much relief she'd felt knowing that the whole situation was all a misunderstanding.

After a generous amount of time she pulled back and repeated her pervious action.

"Hey! Would you stop that!" he whined.

"_That_ was for letting me carry on like an idiot!" Not caring that he didn't ask why she'd done it again.

"Do you feel better?" he asked, knowing that her irritation with him was irrelevant.

Of course, she felt better! Sure, she was just "forced" to spill her guts to him for no apparent reason. Well at least now she knew there was no _real_ reason. Yes, she felt better. She also realized something, as she had many times in the past few hours, this could be the last time she got the chance to right her wrong with Timothy McGee. And she was going to make sure that this _was_ the last time she was going to need it.

To answer his question, she simply connected with his lips yet again.

"Oh would you two give it a rest already!? You act like we're still in college!" she mocked, opening the door seeing Abby straddling Tim on the bed, "Now come on and get some cake before it's gone or before we all lose our appetite." she joked.

Tim and Abby pulled apart one final time to smile at each other, before Abby bound off the bed and across the room, pulling Timmy along with her.

"Happy Birthday and Congratulations!!" she declared to her friend as she enveloped her in a bone crushing squeeze.

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**{Well there it is ladies and gents, what do you think? =] Well whatever the case, it's out of my head now. Lol! So I can continue on to Undercover In Vegas. & just so you know I've already told my brain NO MORE random "You gotta write this NOW Amber!" moments until I finish at least the next chapter in it. =D}**


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